Fading Dreams
by Full Metal Rocker
Summary: AU. Set 7 years after the movie. Edward's helping out at Hogwarts and a certain doppelganger is becoming infatuated with him. Onesided!DracoxEd Edx?


Hey, hey, hey! This is my best work ever. And the longest. :0 I hope you enjoy my story and review, 'kay. There is shonenai (boyxboy) in this story and Harry is EVIL! XDD So beware. Have fun reading…

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Chapter 1

Draco Malfoy was bored. Dead bored. He sat down at the Slytherin house table, sighing softly. Originally he had thought that becoming a prefect would have made his life infinitely more fun. Sadly, he was wrong. Bullying First-years wasn't as appealing to him after he had thought about it. As usual, the green-eyed platinum blonde was followed closely by idiotic buffoons 1 and 2, otherwise known as Crabbe and Goyle, bodyguards by the order of his father. They sat respectively on his left and right and looked at him, unsure of what do. He waved them off and they turned to talk to some boy named Blair or Blaine or something of the like after warily glancing at him. A bored frown marred his soft features as he gazed boredly around the Great Hall for something remotely interesting to occupy his attention. His eyes, scanning the staff table, ran past the usual array of professors and Umbridge, whom he long knew was going to be there-after all his father _**always**_ kept him in the loop- and laid to rest on someone he did _**not**_ know was going to be there. The aforementioned someone looked about as bored as Draco-was- and yawned loudly, much to the amusement of the students who noticed. The young man looked about early twenties and certainly much too young to be a professor, a special guest perhaps? He had long blonde hair the shade of warm golden honey which was pulled back into a low ponytail. From the Slytherin table, Draco couldn't see much about the fascinating young man but felt the corners of his mouth tug upwards as he saw the man rolling a torn piece of napkin into a ball and flicking the wad towards Umbridge. He also noticed that none of the others at the staff table were inclined to stop him. Even when McGonagall entered the Great Hall, with the First-years trailing behind her or when the Sorting Hat sang its stupid song or even the Sorting itself, Draco remained enraptured with the striking blonde. When the first First-year was sorted into Slytherin, Slytherin's roar of approval brought Draco back to reality. But instead of paying attention, he reached across the table and tugged on Pansy Parkinson's robe sleeve.

"Hey Pansy, who's the new guy at the staff table?" Her shrill voice painfully erupted as she responded.

"He's a total hottie from Germany I hear. They say his dad was a friend of Dumbledore's. Leesha said he's going to be a tutor and if he is, I'm totally going to fail everything on purpose so he can 'tutor' me-"

Draco tuned her out after getting what he needed. Tutor, huh. He doubted that Leesha was very reliable as a source of information but, you never know. It was safe to say that Draco was more than intrigued. Dumbledore stood up and started speaking.

"To our newcomers, welcome! To our old hands – welcome back! There is a time for speech-making but this is not it. Tuck in!"

Food appeared on the tables and Crabbe and Goyle immediately dug in, grunting like the pigs they were as they ate. Draco was somewhat put off by their behavior but managed to eat some roast potatoes, pork chops and also some treacle tart. He warily inched away from the pair of pigs before he started eating. When the students all around the hall were finished, Dumbledore stood once again. Chattering ceased as everybody turned to listen to the yearly announcements. The normal reminders and warnings that Draco never bothered paying attention to were yet again ignored. The introduction of new staff made Draco perk up and he leaned in, eager to find out whom the intriguing blonde was.

"…very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be-" Draco didn't give a damn about the other additions and alterations " This year, we are introducing a new subject to the curriculum, Alchemy." Gasps and mutters echoed throughout the hall. Draco's eyes lit up in surprise. "Please welcome Professor Edward Elric who will be teaching said subject. Alchemy will only be available to Year 5-7 students. Those who wish not to take may choose to do so." The blonde had stood up when his name had been called and while Grubbly-Plank had only received a small smattering of polite clapping, Elric had received a much more enthusiastic round of applause, not to mention giggled whispers from interested girls—and a few guys? Draco looked on in amusement at that thought. Fags. He frowned and squinted as he looked into the new professor's eyes. Were they brown, hazel? He couldn't tell. Never mind, he'd find out later. It wasn't like it was particularly important. Dumbledore continued with his speech, introducing Umbridge and mentioning something about Quidditch when he suddenly broke off, turning to face Umbridge. Soon it became obvious that Umbridge had interrupted but it took even longer for most people to realize that she was standing, seeing as there wasn't much difference. Draco snickered. He had never liked that old hag. In fact, he found her rather repulsive with her pouchy toad-like features and shrill unmatching voice. His eyes widened and his snickering faded off to plain out laughing, not that anyone noticed seeing as they themselves were losing or had already lost control. Professor Elric was using his spoon to flick spitballs at Umbridge and she seemed not to notice the spitballs nor the laughing but seemed smug. The old hag probably thought that she had said something amusing. His eyes wandered over to Professor Elric who had a look of pure spite on his face and wondered, why was he so interested in him? He didn't know but was definitely looking forward to attending his class.

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Toad. The first thought to run through Edward Elric's mind when Dolores Jane Umbridge turned to him was that there was a freaking human slash frog chimera in the room. He began to wonder if this side of the gate was like the fantasy stories kids were often told, with the inhuman creatures mingling with the supposedly normal humans. Then he realized it was just a person with seriously frog-like features. The creature, sorry he meant person was rather squat with pallid, saggy skin that contrasted badly with her large, bulging eyes. Her robe was covered by a horrid eye-catching (and not in a good way) pink cardigan and she had matching lacy pink ribbons tied in her short curly hair the color of dried up shit. Edward suppressed the impulse to laugh, scream or wash his eyes out. The putrid toad stared at him with obvious distaste and in her shrill, breathy voice that did not match her looks, she started to speak. She shouldn't have. "Hello there, young man. I was not aware that any students were staying in the school during the summer."

Edward resisted the temptation to tell her that he wasn't fucking _five_ and coldly replied, "I'm not a student. I'm the professor for a new subject the old man is making the students learn." He threw in a fatass at the end for good measure, and to see her reaction. He wasn't disappointed.

"Why- I never- You- Hurrumph! Do you _know_ who I am?"

Edward giggled-though he would never admit to that-and retorted, "A fat toad? I thought that was fairly obvious." When her face turned a mixture of purple and red and her cheeks bloated up, Edward thought he was going to die. God! Did that toad WANT to make him laugh at her? And so began the deep enmity between Umbridge and him but that event had been days ago, still during summer. As for the present, it was the welcoming feast and the toad had the NERVE to interrupt the old man start her own stupid speech. He ignored it and started tearing pieces off a napkin. Then he used his spoon to flick the wads at the bitch. He snorted, she didn't even notice. Probably her folds of fat numbed all forms of feeling. He couldn't wait for the rest of the school year. Soon however, he ran out of napkin and _eventually_ she ran out of bullshit to spew from her mouth. When it was time to return to his rooms, he stood up, stretched and yawned widely. Then on his way out, he stuck his tongue out at… he couldn't think of a suitable insult that he hadn't used yet. A little voice in the back of his mind that sounded suspiciously like Al told him that he was being childish. He ignored it. Al had always been his voice of reason. _Al_. He shook his head to clear his mind of all thoughts of his younger brother. He arrived in front of the portrait leading to is rooms. With a quick murmur of the password, Edward stepped into his room. He grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a towel and went to the connected bathroom for a shower. When he was done, Edward curled up on his fluffy bed. He had a long day tomorrow and he had to wake up way before 12. He sighed. Life was so difficult.

The next morning, he got up and went through his normal routine of showering, changing and brushing his teeth before heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast. He could hear the whispers and murmurs of the-mostly female-students as he walked to the staff table. He supposed being new would garner quite a bit of curiosity from the students. He ate at the staff table and chatted with Professor Sprout about a new plant she was breeding. He didn't react when the owls came to delver the mail; he was already long used to weird things happening at Hogwarts. Professor Sprout was explaining o him about the benefits of the mimbulus whatisname and a something-or-the-other when his gaze caught on a certain black-haired student. Harry Potter, whom he had met at the HQ of the Order of the Phoenix, the supposed "Chosen One". He took in the teen's features; something about the boy irked him. Maybe, if he didn't wear glasses, and without the scar-Holy fucking shit! Edward gaped openly and his eye twitched. That Potter kid just had to be Mustang's doppelganger??? They looked nearly exactly alike, albeit Harry had messier hair, wore glasses, had a scar on his forehead and his eyes weren't the deep midnight blue that Mustang's were.

He inclined his head thoughtfully. The bushy-haired girl sitting next to Harry noticed Edward's careful observation of him and turned to-most likely-tell Harry. Edward grinned in anticipation; his first class that day was fifth-year Gryffindors and Slytherins.

He mumbled a few quick words of goodbye to Professor Sprout, interrupting her, and headed to his rooms to get his things. In his rooms, a quick glance at the clock told him he was going to be late for class so he hurriedly grabbed the things required for his next class and dashed off. A quick apology was mumbled to his students as he opened the door when he heard a small gasp. He turned to the sound and froze.

"Alphonse?"

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Harry frowned. There was something about this professor that he didn't like. He definitely had some sort of secret and Harry was going to find it out and expose it. His mind brought him to the _unpleasant_ events of a few weeks ago.

Upon arriving at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, Mrs Weasley ushered him upstairs to where Ron and Hermione were. The two idiots had been at the stupid order headquarters all summer and they dared claim ignorance? They even claimed that they weren't _allowed_ to send him mail. Bullshit. So of course, Harry had to give them a piece of his mind. After all, who had been the hero of the past 4 years? Harry himself, of course. Then that nosy professor came and interrupted, accusing him of being arrogant and whatnot. If he was so arrogant, then why did he hang out with losers like Ron and Hermione? The new professor would have to _learn_ how things really ran at Hogwarts.

Ron and Hermione, completely oblivious to his dark thoughts, got up to go to class. According to Harry's schedule, his first class was Alchemy. Harry smirked, dwelling on his impure thoughts.

They arrived at the door of the classroom and waited, along with the others already there, for Professor Elric. He came shortly, muttering a quick apology to them. Harry blinked. The professor's eyes were an intense golden color, more vibrant and pure than the gold of Gryffindor's house colors. Draco gave a small gasp when he saw the same. Elric turned to him and froze.

"Alphonse?" The professor whispered so softly that Harry doubted many people had heard.

Who was this "Alphonse"? Harry was going to find out.

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Draco gasped when he saw the new professor's eyes. A fiery molten hone, the professor's intense gaze had him mesmerized. Professor Elric turned towards Draco and froze.

"Alphonse?" He whispered so softly and heartbrokenly wistful that Draco's heart ached pityingly.

Who was "Alphonse"? The professor shook his head slightly like he couldn't believe something. He opened the door and stepped inside the classroom. From a box of chalk on the table, Elric took one out and started writing things on the board. By the time he finished, everyone was seated. He scanned through the textbook, paused at certain parts and then looked up at the class.

"Okay class, turn the introduction." The sound of flipping pages filled the room.

"You," he pointed at Granger, "Read the first paragraph."

Granger took a deep breath and began, "Alchemy, a part of the Occult Tradition, is both a philosophy and a practice with an aim of achieving ultimate wisdom as well as immortality, involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of several substances described as possessing unusual properties. The practical aspect of alchemy generated the basics of modern inorganic chemistry, namely concerning procedures, equipment and the identification and use of many current substances."

When she finished, she sat back down and folded her hands in her lap. Elric slowly reread the text, enunciating each word slowly and carefully. Soon people began to fidget.

"… and use of many current substances." He paused. "Bullshit."

Many people blinked in surprise and Granger even gasped.

"Tear it out. I mean it. And not just that first page, the whole introduction and when you're done, turn to pages 41-44. It's all bullshit. Tear it out too. 76-82. Tear that out. 04-105. Tear it all out." At first, some were hesitant but soon the sound of ripping pages and Elric's voice instructing which pages to tear out were all that was heard for a while.

"When you've torn the pages out, crush it and get rid of it. Anyway you want. Burn it. Disintegrate it. Use you wand to do some magic and completely annihilate it. Just get rid of it all." Students were hurrying to comply. Many were obviously enjoying it but Granger looked like it was physically hurting her to do so.

"When you're done," he continued, "come to my desk and get a piece of chalk. Read paragraphs 7-14 on page 52. After that, set out a piece of parchment and draw the circle on page 21, then try to activate it.

He walked over to behind his desk, sat at his chair and started reading a book. The students immediately set to work. Soon, however, many people wee beginning to have trouble. A chorus of "Professor Elric! I need help." And "Professor, I don't understand!"s echoed throughout various regions of the room but said professor ignored the cries for help and continued reading. Draco himself was having some trouble but noticed the futility of it all and simply stayed silent. Even the know-it-all Granger was having trouble but she stubbornly kept trying and failing each time.

Finally, slowly, Elric put down his book and stood up. The whole class fell silent. He looked each and every one of them in the eye with his intense gaze which, to Draco, seemed to linger on him, and spoke.

"Has anyone been able to do the assigned task?"

Absolute silence.

"No one at all? Absolutely _no one_ could do this on their own?"

Again, silence. Granger looked like she was about to cry and even Pansy's usually playful behavior was suspended.

"Do you understand why I am here now? I did not come here simply to give you assignments that you would easily complete. I did not come here because you do not need my guidance in this subject. I came because you do require me. Do you fully understand the reason I am here? To _teach _you. To_ guide_ you. To help you _learn_. And for that to be able to happen, I need you to let me and to accept my authority as your teacher. Do you understand?"

Still the class was silent and the mood somber.

"I said, do you _understand_?"

"Y-yes, sir!"

He relaxed.

"This lesson was required to teach you to respect me. I hope you'll find that I can be much more pleasant under other conditions. Please turn to page 32so we can begin the lesson proper." The rustle of pages flipping and Elric's voice was the only thing anyone walking by the classroom would hear for the next half hour. Draco blinked in silent awe of his alchemy professor and felt the beginnings of a warm feeling in his stomach. He furrowed his brow. Indigestion, maybe? He'd better check with Madam Pomfrey. After all, he didn't want to risk it being serious.

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Edward sighed as he flopped down onto his bed. In the past week, his classes had been progressing nicely and although he still hadn't found a way home, he was learning many new things. He rolled onto his side and curled up. He just couldn't get him out of his head, the boy who looked so much like his Alphonse… Hadn't 'fons been his little brother's doppelganger? Then again, Alfons was dead. Maybe… No. He pushed that theory way and flipped over. He drifted off to sleep thinking of that curious doppelganger of Al's, Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.

He woke up the next morning running late.

"Shit! I forgot to set the alarm!"

Skipping breakfast, Edward got ready and made it to class on time. The students filed into the classroom and he noticed that the Potter boy was glaring at him. Hmm… He'd have to look into that. Al's doppelganger came in looking slightly troubled and unsure. He vaguely wondered what was wrong. Edward started his lesson and turned to the board.

Later, when he was finished and as the students were leaving, one of his students, Padma Patil came up to him.

"Professor Elric, I was wondering if maybe you could give me some extra _lessons_ because I just can't seem to understand the curriculum..."

He arched an eyebrow. "You seem to be doing fine. I doubt you need it, you're understanding the curriculum fine. Anything you don't understand, you can ask about during class." Padma pouted and walked disappointedly to Lavender who patted her back comfortingly.

As he was about to go, the only one left in the classroom besides him, Draco approached him. Hesitatingly biting his lower lip, he spoke.

"Um, Professor, I don't really get this um theorem that you've been teaching us and I was wondering if you could explain further for me…" He hurriedly added, "Bt if it's too much trouble then it's really alright…"

"Actually I-" He really shouldn't have, after all he had rejected Padma, but he did, "-meet me here tomorrow evening at 6."

He just couldn't say no to this boy any more than he could to Al. he sighed as he went down to lunch. He wasn't particularly looking forward to the extra lesson with Draco the following evening.

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End chapter 1.

Please answer this questionnaire below and review. :D

1. Should Dumbledore be the cause of Harry's evilness?

(a) Yes.

(b) No.

2. If you chose (a), how should Dumbledore be the cause?

(a) Dumbledore is also sick and twisted.

(b) Dumbledore is not bad but his treatment of Harry has indirectly caused him to be like this.

(c) Dumbledore's a victim of Harry.


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